Easyriding II
I'm back in Perth! I survived my first tour and I'm actually feeling bumbed that it is over. I didn't see much since leaving Esperance, but I did make friends which was pretty fabulous.
After I wrote the other night I ended up spending the evening with Corinne and a guy named Paul. We just sat around the hostel and Paul tried to convince me that I should train myself to drink beer. I guess that sounds pretty sketchy, but it wasn't, it was just amusing. In the morning, we picked up another easyrider- a German girl named Carolin (pronounced something like Carolyn not Caroline). We went out to the famous white sand beaches, including the winner of Australian's whitest sand award. Unfortunately it wasn't a very nice day, so we didn't go swimming. But the sand was really really white, and also very fine. It had an almost milky consistencey. I think this was because of a high quartz content or something like that. After the beach we basically drove straight to the mining center of Kalgoorlie. On the way we stopped in some of the saddest, most desolate towns I have ever seen (including one called Salmon Gums- named for a kind of tree, not for the gums of fish). Imagine the saddest, smallest town in northern Vermont, and then imagine instead of quaint Victorian houses it is made up of corrugated iron houses, and instead of being green in the summer it is all red dust and 115 degrees. It was depressing to imagine that anyone could actually live in these places. Kalgoorlie on the other hand was a bit of a surpirse. Most of the towns I've visited in Australia have been disappointing in their architecture and general lack of unique atmosphere. For example, I imagined that the small fishing and farming villages in the south would be somewhat cute and country-looking, with unique main streets and stuff like that. Maybe this is just my stereotyping small towns, but that is what I thought. Instead, the main streets (the only streets) in these towns looked more like mini-strip malls, no character, just the same strips in every town. I assumed that Kalgoorlie would also be like this, especially since it is a very industrial place, existing just for the mining. However, I was surprised to find that it was the most historic place that we visited. Old hotels have been preserved from the early 1900's, along with the old Town Hall, and things like that. It was really interesting that this industrial town cared a lot more about preservation and asthetics than the more touristy places like Margaret River. But anyway, there wasn't much to see there- we went to the "super pit" where a lot of the mining is done (another depressing site, just thinking about people actually have to work there is so sad), and we went to a historic shack where the town past time was played back in the day. This past time is called "two up" and it is a gambling game in which one person throws two pennies into the air and bets whether they will come down both heads, both tails, or "ones". Okay, just knowing that this was the major entertainment in the town tells you a lot about it. Seriously, they played this game every day of the week, and people lost 100s of dollars on it. Pretty amazing. After seeing these sites, we all went to the hostel and jumped in the pool and played modified catch/volleyball. Then we all went out for pizza together, and Corinne, Carolin, and I went back to our room and had a really long wonderful conversation about how there are 28 states and 7 presidents in Switzerland (imagine the size of Switzerland and think about how hilarious that is), how our different schools systems work, and things like that. We must have talked for a few hours, and it was really one of the highlights of the trip to have such a nice conversation.
Today we basically just drove back to Perth. We stopped once to see a famous furniture shop in York- the stuff was really nice, made of this special WA wood called jarrah. But that was about it. I'm back in Cottesloe now, doing laundry and feeling freaked out as usual. I'm starting to anticipate my moods at least- it seems that as long as I am on the go, with a plan for the day, then I feel alright. But when I land somewhere and don't have something to fill my time, then I freak out. Tonight I also got booked into a single room by mistake- and now its the only room left, so I'm stuck there for the night. I guess it will be nice to have my own room for a change, but it means that I won't be distracted from worrying by the other people around me. The good news is that Carolin might come hang out with me in Cottesloe tomorrow, so then I'll have something to do. At the moment, I'm also trying to decide whether or not to go on a tour up north. I can't get a refund for the tour and I'd be going with Corinne for the first few days, so I feel like I should go. But I'm also very tempted to go to Melbourne straight away, especially since I'm not feeling so great right now. I change my mind every few minutes, but I'll keep you all posted.
Love,
Emma
After I wrote the other night I ended up spending the evening with Corinne and a guy named Paul. We just sat around the hostel and Paul tried to convince me that I should train myself to drink beer. I guess that sounds pretty sketchy, but it wasn't, it was just amusing. In the morning, we picked up another easyrider- a German girl named Carolin (pronounced something like Carolyn not Caroline). We went out to the famous white sand beaches, including the winner of Australian's whitest sand award. Unfortunately it wasn't a very nice day, so we didn't go swimming. But the sand was really really white, and also very fine. It had an almost milky consistencey. I think this was because of a high quartz content or something like that. After the beach we basically drove straight to the mining center of Kalgoorlie. On the way we stopped in some of the saddest, most desolate towns I have ever seen (including one called Salmon Gums- named for a kind of tree, not for the gums of fish). Imagine the saddest, smallest town in northern Vermont, and then imagine instead of quaint Victorian houses it is made up of corrugated iron houses, and instead of being green in the summer it is all red dust and 115 degrees. It was depressing to imagine that anyone could actually live in these places. Kalgoorlie on the other hand was a bit of a surpirse. Most of the towns I've visited in Australia have been disappointing in their architecture and general lack of unique atmosphere. For example, I imagined that the small fishing and farming villages in the south would be somewhat cute and country-looking, with unique main streets and stuff like that. Maybe this is just my stereotyping small towns, but that is what I thought. Instead, the main streets (the only streets) in these towns looked more like mini-strip malls, no character, just the same strips in every town. I assumed that Kalgoorlie would also be like this, especially since it is a very industrial place, existing just for the mining. However, I was surprised to find that it was the most historic place that we visited. Old hotels have been preserved from the early 1900's, along with the old Town Hall, and things like that. It was really interesting that this industrial town cared a lot more about preservation and asthetics than the more touristy places like Margaret River. But anyway, there wasn't much to see there- we went to the "super pit" where a lot of the mining is done (another depressing site, just thinking about people actually have to work there is so sad), and we went to a historic shack where the town past time was played back in the day. This past time is called "two up" and it is a gambling game in which one person throws two pennies into the air and bets whether they will come down both heads, both tails, or "ones". Okay, just knowing that this was the major entertainment in the town tells you a lot about it. Seriously, they played this game every day of the week, and people lost 100s of dollars on it. Pretty amazing. After seeing these sites, we all went to the hostel and jumped in the pool and played modified catch/volleyball. Then we all went out for pizza together, and Corinne, Carolin, and I went back to our room and had a really long wonderful conversation about how there are 28 states and 7 presidents in Switzerland (imagine the size of Switzerland and think about how hilarious that is), how our different schools systems work, and things like that. We must have talked for a few hours, and it was really one of the highlights of the trip to have such a nice conversation.
Today we basically just drove back to Perth. We stopped once to see a famous furniture shop in York- the stuff was really nice, made of this special WA wood called jarrah. But that was about it. I'm back in Cottesloe now, doing laundry and feeling freaked out as usual. I'm starting to anticipate my moods at least- it seems that as long as I am on the go, with a plan for the day, then I feel alright. But when I land somewhere and don't have something to fill my time, then I freak out. Tonight I also got booked into a single room by mistake- and now its the only room left, so I'm stuck there for the night. I guess it will be nice to have my own room for a change, but it means that I won't be distracted from worrying by the other people around me. The good news is that Carolin might come hang out with me in Cottesloe tomorrow, so then I'll have something to do. At the moment, I'm also trying to decide whether or not to go on a tour up north. I can't get a refund for the tour and I'd be going with Corinne for the first few days, so I feel like I should go. But I'm also very tempted to go to Melbourne straight away, especially since I'm not feeling so great right now. I change my mind every few minutes, but I'll keep you all posted.
Love,
Emma
4 Comments:
Emma! Get the hell out of WA! It's enough to drive anyone crazy!
If you don't go straight to Melbourne, I very very strongly suggest you go to Uluru National Park. Here is good link at:
http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/worldheritage/sites/uluru/pubs/uluru.pdf
Hiking around it is so lovely, and if you can find a companion, you should definitely spend part of a day hiking the "Olga's" as well. That was a highlight of our family trip several years ago. Also, there is a sunset-star gazing outdoor barbecues, which is wonderful fun and just beautiful.
In general, I'd suggest getting on to the Australia and Tasmania UNESCO World Heritage websites and choosing your destinations that way. But, DO NOT go to Kakadu National Park. Probably not reachable in this season anyhow.
Let me know when you are going to Melbourne and I can introduce you to one of my arts friends there.
Where are you going to be in early to mid-March? Would you like to meet me in Beijing? I can guarantee you a good time and very interesting people (Americans and English-speaking Chinese) your age.
hurrah for nice people! i know you'll end up okay whatever you decide to do, and if corinne is going and you've already paid it might be worth it... but as sad as most of your time in WA has been, it might be good to just leave...
anyways... board retreat was last weekend and it was incredible! i miss you tons and can't wait to hear more... mwah
glad to hear that you made some good friends! People in Australia are so friendly - I think the weirdness that you are experiencing is probably due to the sheer lack of PEOPLE in Western Australia. No worries mate, things will get better! So much love!!
Cathy is a comment making queen!
Nora
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